Warhawks on verge of milestone bowl trip

There have been times this fall when
North Texas head coach Dan McCarney has sat and cheered arguably the biggest
underdog in college football during a magical season.

McCarney was as surprised as anyone when
Louisiana-Monroe beat Arkansas and nearly toppled Auburn and Baylor.

“They have done some real magical
things,” McCarney said. “How could you not cheer for what they are doing, what
they have done and how their season has transpired? I find myself at times
cheering for them, and I’m in the same conference and have to try to go beat
them this week.”

UNT will attempt today to become the
latest in a series of teams that have knocked ULM off track following that
great start when the Mean Green will look to come up with a little late-season
magic of its own.

UNT (4-6, 3-3 Sun Belt) isn’t entirely
out of the bowl hunt just yet.

If the Mean Green can win its last two
games, it would be bowl-eligible for the first time since 2004.

To UNT’s players, that doesn’t seem like
such a big stretch, especially after ULM lost its last two games.

“They are a very good football team,”
UNT quarterback Derek Thompson said. “They have struggled the past couple of
weeks but still have a lot of players who can make plays. Teams have exploited
some of their weaknesses. We are going to try to take advantage of that.”

ULM (6-4, 4-2 Sun Belt) is already
bowl-eligible and can bolster its bowl hopes with a win today, following losses
to Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.

The return of quarterback Kolton
Browning will certainly help. Browning was injured in the first quarter against
ULL on Nov. 3 and missed ULM’s game against ASU five days later.

McCarney said that Browning was playing
better than anyone in the Sun Belt Conference when he went down, which was a
big reason ULM has won six games and become a Cinderella story in the world of
college football.

ULM’s football budget is just $3.5 million,
which Warhawks head coach Todd Berry said is the lowest among FBS schools, not
to mention relative chump change in the world of big-time college athletics.

The Warhawks are at a disadvantage not
only nationally, but in their own conference as well. UNT’s football budget is
just under $6.1 million.

“From a fan standpoint, the national
attention that we received early in the season was something that people never
thought could happen here,” Berry said.

History certainly wasn’t on ULM’s side.

The Warhawks moved to what is now the
Football Bowl Subdivision in 1994. ULM finished 6-6 in 2007 and 2009 but has
not posted a winning season since moving up to the FBS level.

One more win would get ULM there and
give Warhawks an even better chance to earn their first bowl bid since the 1947
Junior Sugar Bowl, when the school was a junior college. ULM has not played in
the postseason since the 1993 I-AA playoffs.

“I don’t think there is any question
that this season has changed things for us,” Berry said. “There are people
outside of our program and our team who believe we can have success. I don’t
know if that was the case before.”

What has McCarney a little mystified is
that ULM has reached that point largely due to a host of Texas — and particularly
Dallas high school — products who are playing key roles.

Browning is from Maybank, while his
leading receiver Brent Leonard of Keller is one of six starters from the Dallas
area.

“They have all kinds of Texas players in
their two-deep — starters, backups, skill position players, linemen,” said
McCarney, who is in his second season at UNT. “I don’t know how many we tried
to recruit, but there are a number of them we should have recruited.”

While UNT has not garnered the national
attention ULM has received, it is still in the bowl hunt heading into its game
against ULM, a team in the midst of a special season.

“It’s good for the Sun Belt,” UNT
quarterback Thompson said of ULM’s success. “Monroe beating Arkansas and losing
close games to Auburn and Baylor helps put this conference on the map and shows
that we are not just a lower-level league.”

KEY MATCHUP

UNT S Marcus Trice vs. ULM QB Kolton
Browning

Browning might be the best player in the
Sun Belt Conference regardless of position.

The junior leads the league in total
offense with an average of 301.6 yards a game and is also No. 1 in touchdown
passes with 23. He will be back today after missing most of two games due to injury.

“No one was playing better football in
the Sun Belt at any position than Kolton Browning when he got hurt,” McCarney
said. “No one.”

Browning is a true dual-threat
quarterback who is at his best when he can find open space and make plays. His
16-yard scramble for a touchdown in overtime gave ULM a win over Arkansas in
one of the biggest upsets of the year in college football.

Browning has rushed for 426 yards on the
season, the top total among players ranked in the top 10 in total offense in
the Sun Belt this week. He is completing 61.8 percent of his passes on the
season.

ULM head coach Todd Berry said early in
the week that he believed Browning had recovered to the point that he would be
able to play against UNT, but was unsure if he would be healthy enough to be
effective.

He said later in the week that Browning
will start, which will put added pressure on UNT’s defense, including safety
Marcus Trice. UNT ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring defense at 26.7
points a game partly because of the play of its safety, who is tied for fourth
on the team in tackles with 56 and is also tied for the team lead with two
interceptions.

UNT will need Trice to help contain
Browning and prevent him from getting out of the pocket in addition to holding
up in pass defense.

HOW THEY MATCH UP

UNT’s offense vs. ULM’s defense

UNT played one of its better games of
the season offensively last week in a 24-14 win over South Alabama when it came
to putting points on the board. Brandin Byrd broke free for an 85-yard
touchdown run, while Jeremy Brown posted a 51-yard scoring run.

UNT has not been consistent throughout
the season, though. The Mean Green is averaging 21.1 points a game.

ULM has struggled most of the season
defensively and has given up at least 40 points in three of its last four
games. The Warhawks have been good against the run, though, and rank second in
the Sun Belt in rushing defense with an average of 135.0 yards allowed a game.
If ULM can play well against the run again today, it will give the Warhawks the
edge.

Edge:
ULM

UNT’s defense vs. ULM’s offense

ULM has been the best offensive team in
the Sun Belt throughout the season and leads the league with an average of 36.1
points a game.

The Warhawks are particularly potent in
the passing game, where they have averaged 297.7 yards a game. ULM had to get
by for most of two games without Browning, its star quarterback and still
scored an average of 23.5 points in those two games.

UNT has improved defensively this season
and ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring defense with an average of 26.7
points allowed a game.The Mean Green has struggled at times in pass defense,
which could be a problem against ULM.

Edge:
ULM

1. Put pressure on ULM’s star QB
Browning

ULM quarterback Kolton Browning has
shown the ability to make big plays when he gets outside of the pocket or has
time to throw the ball. UNT will have a much better chance to win if it can get
to Browning, who might not be at his best after coming back from an injury that
kept him out nearly two full games.

2. Make some big plays again to spark
offense

Perhaps the biggest reason UNT knocked
off South Alabama last week was that it was able to make some big plays
offensively. Brandin Byrd broke off an 85-yard touchdown run and Jeremy Brown
scored from 51 yards out. ULM leads the Sun Belt with an average of 36.1 points
a game. UNT will have to score to keep up.

3. Win the vital turnover battle again
today

UNT won the turnover battle last week in
a win over South Alabama 2-1 and caught a break when Tyrell Pearson fumbled
after intercepting a Derek Thompson pass. UNT took over at its 20 on a call the
Sun Belt later said the replay official missed. USA should have gotten the ball
at the UNT 1-yard line following the fumble. Turnovers can be huge.

4. Contain ULM star receiver Leonard

ULM’s Brent Leonard is one of the top
wide receivers in the Sun Belt and comes into today’s game leading the league
with an average of 7.6 catches a game. Leonard is the type of receiver who can
get open, catch short passes and keep ULM’s offense on the field. The Mean
Green can’t afford to let him have a big day.

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